Elena Lukinichna Mrozovskaya (1875-1941) was Russia’s first female photographer.
In 1894, Mrozovskaya became the first woman to open her own photo studio in St. Petersburg – which was located at No. 20 Nevsky Prospekt, just a few minutes walk from the studio of the famous Imperial Court photographer Karl Bulla.
Her studio was quite a well-known, and she became famous for her photographic portraits of members of the Imperial Family, as well those of members of the nobility, famous actors and music elite of her time. Among her most famous clients were the famous ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska and Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich.
In February 1903, Elena Mrozovskaya was invited to the Winter Palace to photograph the Imperial Family and members of the nobility at the famous Costume Ball.
Mrozovskaya’s works participated in large international exhibitions; she received many awards and recognition. Her portrait of Princess Olga Orlova wearing a kokoshnik became one of her most famous works.
After the revolution, Mrozovskaya’s studio was closed; she herself moved to her country dacha. Her further fate is covered in the fog of history; it’s only known that she died in the resort village of Kuokkala (modern Repino) near St. Petersburg in 1941.
Today, Mrozovskaya’s works are kept at the State Hermitage Museum, at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and in other museums and state archives in Russia.
